Display change and/or state save in game and/or game series

ABSTRACT

Embodiments related to conducting a wagering game according to the rules of a base game includes defining a finite set of game indicia. In some embodiments the player plays multiple sequential game hand by placing a wager, receiving game indicia from the finite set cumulatively excluding any game indicia previously dealt, playing the game hand to completion, collecting the game indicia from the player and excluding the dealt game indicia from further play, and displaying at least the excluded game indicia or any winning combinations precluded by the excluded game indicia. In some embodiments the game hands continue in sequence until a restoration event, which may include a manually triggered restoration or an automatic restoration event, that restores the excluded game indicia. Other embodiments are also described.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/437,441, filed Apr. 2, 2012 entitled “DISPLAY CHANGE AND/OR STATESAVE IN GAME AND/OR GAME SERIES” which is a continuation-in-part of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 12/255,123, filed on Oct. 21, 2008 (now U.S.Pat. No. 8,147,308 issued on Apr. 3, 2012), entitled “STATE SAVE INGAME” and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/263,768, filed on Nov. 3,2008 (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,147,307 issued on Apr. 3, 2012), entitled“DISPLAY IN CHANGE GAME SERIES”, all of which are hereby incorporatedherein by reference.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flow chart of a method according to an embodiment of thepresent invention directed to multiple sequential game hands;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a method according to an embodiment of thepresent invention directed to multiple simultaneous game hands.

DESCRIPTION

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/977,138 entitled “Electronic CardGame and Method,” filed Oct. 12, 2001, U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 60/241,644 entitled “Electronic Video Poker Game and Method,” filedOct. 19, 2000, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/942,520 entitled“Live And Electronic Wagering And Lottery Game,” filed Aug. 29, 2001,U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/229,665 entitled “Live andElectronic Wagering and Lottery Game,” filed Aug. 31, 2000, and U.S.patent application Ser. No. 11/007,108, entitled “Method of conducting awagering game with continuous depletion,” filed Dec. 7, 2004 are allhereby incorporated herein by reference.

Embodiments of the present invention relate to games. Some embodimentsrelate to a method for conducting multiple hands of a game. In someimplementations, a game may involve a single finite game indicia setthat cumulatively excludes game indicia previously dealt until arestoration event occurs.

There are many known casino games that use indicia to determine theoutcome of the game. For example, many casino games of chance utilizereels displaying a fixed set of award symbols. These reel games arecommonly referred to as reel slot machines or slot machines.

Slot machines can contain any number of reels, although most slotmachines contain three, four, or five reels, and any number of paylines, although most slot machines include one, three, five, eight, ornine pay lines. Each reel on a slot machine may index at a plurality ofpositions or stops, each of which contains a symbol or a blank. Thenumber and location of index positions can vary depending upon the modeltype of each game but all instances, are fixed. These model types aredetermined by a variety of award tables and corresponding combinationsof reel symbols. As noted above, the combination of symbols displayedwhen the reels index determines whether the player has won or lost.

The player may place a wager to initiate play of a slot machine. In someimplementations, the player can place multiple wagers to, as describedpreviously, increase the payout amounts, increase the number of activepay lines, or both. Often, the specific wagering structure dictates theallocation of multiple coin wagers. The reels may be randomized, i.e.mechanically or electronically “spun,” and the combinations of reelsymbols index across the pay line or pay lines are examined for winningcombinations. Winning combinations are rewarded according to the paytable which may take into account the size of the wager.

Some implementations of video poker are well known (e.g., video drawpoker, video stud poker, etc.). In some games of video draw poker, agaming device is provided wherein the player makes a wager and thedevice's processor selects (e.g., from a data structure containing datarepresenting cards in a deck of playing cards) five cards to bedisplayed face up to represent an initial hand. The player selectswhich, if any, of the five cards of the initial hand to hold and promptsthe processor to discard the remaining cards. The discarded cards arereplaced with replacements (e.g., selected from the data structure) toproduce a final hand outcome of a five card poker hand. The video drawpoker device may compare the final outcome to the predetermined winningcombinations, which may also be stored in a data structure, thesecombinations frequently representing ranked poker hands. If the player'sfinal outcome matches a winning combination, the player is rewarded.Otherwise, the final outcome may be deemed to be a loss and the player'swager may be retained.

In a variation of video draw poker, multiple hands may be provided. Aswith conventional video draw poker, the device's processor may randomlydeal five cards to a player for an initial hand. The player may selectwhich, if any, of the five cards of the initial hand to hold. Prior todrawing replacement cards for the initial hand, the held cards may becopied into the other hands. The player may prompt the processor todiscard the remaining cards and additional cards may be drawn to replacethe discarded cards. The processor may then repeat the draw step for theadditional hands. Thus, a player receives multiple opportunities to drawto the same held cards.

Blackjack is a well known card game played in casinos. The object of thegame is to have a final hand total closer to twenty-one than thedealer's hand without exceeding twenty-one. For purposes of calculatingthe final hand total, each card has a value equal to its face valueexcept face cards, which have a value of ten, and aces, which may have avalue of eleven or one as the player selects or as required to preventthe player from exceeding twenty-one. In conventional Blackjack, thesuit of the cards is not relevant to the outcome of the game.

The form of Blackjack played in some casinos is played between a dealer,representing the house, and at least one player. In a typical Blackjackgame, each player makes a wager in a wagering area on a playing surface.The dealer deals two cards to each player and two cards, one card faceup and the other face down, to himself or herself. Any player receivinga natural twenty-one or Blackjack, i.e. a total of twenty-one in theinitial dealt hand, is immediately rewarded, typically at a rate of 2:1or 3:2, and play is terminated as to that player. Each remaining playerexamines his or her hand and decides whether to hit, i.e. receiveanother card, or stand, i.e. receive no further cards and finish playwith the player's current hand. A player may hit as many times as theplayer wishes as long as the player does not bust, i.e. have acumulative total greater than twenty-one. When a player busts, thatplayer's wager is immediately collected and play is terminated as tothat player.

A player may also have additional options available depending on theinitial hand dealt and the house rules. For example, a player may havethe option of “doubling down.” Although the availability of the doubledown option varies depending on each casino's house rules, the optionallows a player to double the player's wager in exchange for a singleadditional card. Some house rules permit doubling down on initial handtotals of ten or eleven only, other house rules permit doubling down onany initial hand total.

Another option available to a player is the option of “splitting.” If aplayer receives a pair, i.e. two cards having the same face value, inhis initial hand, most house rules permit the player to split the pairand use each card as a basis for a separate hand. For example, if aplayer is dealt a pair of eights, the player may choose to split thepair and continue play with two hands each having an eight and anadditional dealt card as an initial hand. Each of those individual handsis then played independently by hitting, standing, or, under some houserules, doubling down or further splitting.

After all the players have played their hands, the dealer reveals theface-down card in the dealer's hand and completes the dealer's handaccording to established house rules. That is, the casino usesestablished rules to eliminate the dealer's discretion. The dealer hitsor stands as the house rules dictate, and resolves the wagers. Inresolving the wagers, players with a final hand total closer totwenty-one than the dealer's final hand total are rewarded at evenmoney. Conversely, wagers are collected from players with a final handtotal further from twenty-one than the dealer's final hand total. If thedealer busts, all players who did not bust or receive a Blackjack arerewarded at even money. If the player and dealer push, i.e. have thesame final hand total, the player's wager is returned.

Some players may believe that a drawback to any of these games is thatthey are well known and may provide little suspense in play. That is, asa player plays, the game is static. Each game is a separate trial usingthe same base set of symbols. Additionally, while many different typesof bonus pay outs have been created, some players may desire bonus payouts created in which the likelihood of obtaining the payout increaseswith additional play.

It should be recognized that any game or set of games may be played in alive, electronic and/or any other version.

Some embodiments of the present invention include a method forconducting a wagering game. The method can be applied to any base gameusing a set of game indicia. The base game includes, but is not limitedto, games in which a player plays the game indicia originally dealt,such as slot machines, lotto, Bingo, stud poker, or the like; games inwhich players obtain additional game indicia during the game (either atthe player's option or automatically), such as Blackjack or twenty-oneand poker; and games in which a player may opt to discard and replacegame indicia, such as draw poker. The present method may also be appliedto single player or multi-player games.

In some embodiments, a finite set of game indicia are defined.Optionally, the finite set of game indicia are ordered. Some methods canbe thought of as a multi-hand game. In one optional embodiment, the gamehands are dealt sequentially; in an alternate embodiment, the game handsare dealt simultaneously. In either case, the player may place a wagerfor a game hand and game indicia are dealt to the player from the finiteset cumulatively excluding all game indicia dealt in previous gamehands, if any. The player plays the game hand to completion according tothe base game. A determination is made whether the game hand forms awinning hand according to the base game. In one optional embodiment,this determination may be made by comparing the game hand to a scheduleof game hands. In another optional embodiment, this determination may bemade by comparing the game hand to one or more other player's and/ordealer's game hands.

In some embodiments, game indicia dealt are collected and, along withall game indicia dealt in previous game hands, are excluded from play ina subsequent game hand. At least one of (1) the inventory of the gameindicia from the finite set cumulatively excluding all game indiciadealt in previous game hands or (2) winning hands including one or moreexcluded game indicia is displayed to the player. Optionally, both maybe displayed.

In an optional embodiment in which multiple game hands are dealtsimultaneously, the process is repeated for each game hand. Optionally,the player may be allowed to select the order in which game hands areconducted.

In an optional embodiment in which multiple game hands are dealtsequentially, the process is repeated for additional sequential gamehands. Specifically, the steps of placing a wager, dealing game indicia,completing a game hand, collecting and excluding dealt game indicia, anddisplaying the game indicia inventory and/or the winning handseliminated by the exclusion of game indicia, are repeated until arestoration event.

In some embodiments, the restoration event may include at least a manualrestoration event, such as a player triggered restoration. In anoptional multi-player embodiment, only one player may be eligible totrigger a manual restoration event on any game hand. Optionally, therestoration event may also include an automatic restoration event, suchas the dealing of a quantity of game indicia or the conducting of aquantity of game hands. In a further optional embodiment, therestoration event includes a manual restoration event and an automaticrestoration event, whichever occurs first. Upon a restoration event,excluded game indicia are restored to the finite set. In an optionalembodiment in which the finite set is ordered, a restoration event alsocauses a reordering of the finite set.

In an optional embodiment, the player is restricted from placing agreater wager and/or altering the denomination of the wager in theadditional sequential game hands. That is, in such an optionalembodiment, the player may only change the wager size and/ordenomination immediately following a restoration event.

In an optional embodiment directed to multi-denomination wagering, aplurality of wager denominations are defined. The game hand history isseparately tracked for play at each wager denomination.

It should be recognized that all embodiments are optional whether or notthey are specifically referred to as optional. A description of anembodiment is a description of an example that may or may not beincluded in some methods and/or apparatus.

Reference is now made to the figures wherein like parts are referred toby like numerals throughout. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, some embodimentsof the present invention include a method 10 for conducting a wageringgame. Various methods could be implemented in a gaming machine, livegame, conducted via computer network or Internet, or implemented in anyother form.

Some methods are directed for use in combination with a base game. Thebase game may be a pre-existing base game or may be based on apre-existing base game. Alternatively, the base game may be differentfrom existing games. Among other purposes, the base game rules serve toguide the steps for completing a game hand and determining whether agame hand is a winning hand.

In this regard, it is noted that various methods could be used inconjunction with any base game. For example, the base game may includerules for the completion of a game hand in which a player plays the gameindicia dealt, such as in a slot game, lotto, Bingo, stud poker game, orthe like. Similarly, the base game may include rules for the completionof a game hand in which a player receives additional game indicia,either automatically or at the player's option, such as in Blackjack ortwenty-one, Baccarat, or the like. Additionally, the base game mayinclude rules for the completion of a game hand in which a player maydiscard and replace game indicia, such as in draw poker or the like.Examples of such games are given below. It is noted that these examplesmerely illustrate how various methods could be applied to various basegames and should not be considered restrictive, since methods could beadapted to any other base game.

The base game rules may also vary according to the rules determiningwhether a game hand is a winning hand. Various methods could be appliedto any base game without regard to how a winning hand is determined. Forexample, the base game rules may include determining a winning hand bycomparing the game hand to a standard, such as a pay table. Similarly,the base game rules may include determining a winning hand by comparingthe game hand to a dealer's hand, or one or more player's hand.

The base game may include single player or multi-player games. Whilevarious methods could be conducted the same whether a single player ormultiple players are playing, in an optional embodiment directed tomulti-player games, an optional rule could be implemented in which onlyone player is eligible to cause a manual restoration event during anygame hand. As discussed in greater detail below, the eligibility mayrotate among the players in such an optional embodiment.

Method 10 could be implemented for multiple sequential game hands, suchas shown in the optional embodiment of FIG. 1, or for multiplesimultaneous game hands, such as the method 40 shown in the optionalembodiment of FIG. 2. Turning first to FIG. 1, the example embodimentincludes defining 12 a finite set of game indicia. The game indicia maytake any form including, but not limited to, playing cards, numbers,Bingo numbers, slot reel symbols, slot reel stops, or any other indicia.The finite set may include any quantity of game indicia, may includerepeated game indicia, and may include multiple “sets” of game indicia,such as multiple decks of cards. That is, by “finite” it is intendedthat the finite set be closed so that exclusion or depletion, asdescribed below, can occur.

Referring generally to FIGS. 1 and 2, the player places 14 a wager. Inan embodiment directed to multiple sequential game hands, as shown inFIG. 1, the player places a wager for each game hand. Optionally, thewager may be controlled in that the player's options for altering awager and/or wager denomination between restoration events may belimited. This is described in greater detail below. In an embodimentdirected to multiple simultaneous game hands, as shown in FIG. 2, thepresent method may require only a single wager for participation or mayrequire a separate wager for each game hand.

Returning to FIG. 1, a game hand is dealt 16 to the player. By “dealt”it is meant that game indicia are assigned to a player. In this regard,it is intended that slot reel symbols, Bingo numbers, lotto numbers,Keno numbers, playing cards, or any other game indicia may be “dealt.”In the initial game hand, i.e. a game hand dealt 16 immediately after arestoration event, the game indicia may be dealt from a complete finiteset in some embodiments. In subsequent game hands, discussed in greaterdetail below, the game indicia may be dealt 30 from the finite setexcluding previously dealt game indicia in some embodiments. That is,after a game indicia is dealt it may be excluded from subsequent playuntil a restoration event in some embodiments. For example, in anembodiment in which the finite set is a single deck of playing cards, adealt game hand of K heart 9.diamond 10.diamond. 3 club 7 hearts wouldmean that these cards are depleted from the finite set and, thus, thereare no King of hearts, nine of diamonds, ten of diamonds, three ofclubs, or seven of hearts available in the single deck inventory fromwhich subsequent game hands will be dealt until a restoration event. Itshould be recognized that such depletion and finite sets may not beincluded in all embodiments, and/or other methods may be used, asdescribed in more detail below.

With continued reference to FIG. 1, the player may play 18 the game handto completion according to the rules of the base game. As discussedabove, the precise base game can vary and, in fact, it is contemplatedthat embodiments of the present invention could be applied to any basegame. Once the game hand is completed, the game hand may be assessed todetermine whether the game hand is a winning hand and whether the playeris entitled to an award.

In some embodiments, the game indicia of the game hand are collected 20,i.e. removed from play. That is, the player does not carry any of thegame indicia to the next game hand in some such embodiments—in thissense, each game hand is separate because each game hand is separatelydealt. Additionally, all dealt game indicia are excluded from furtherfrom play in a subsequent hand until a restoration event in someembodiments. This “exclusion” of game indicia dealt may allow thedepletion of game indicia, optionally down to zero, from the universe ofgame indicia that can be dealt in a subsequent game hand. That is, withdealt game indicia excluded from subsequent play, the total inventory ofgame indicia is reduced and the inventory of the specific game indiciadealt is reduced, and may reach a zero balance, thereby reducing oreliminating the possibility that a game indicium will be dealt in asubsequent play in some embodiments. This, in turn, could eliminatecertain winning hands from being dealt. For example, in a game using onedeck of playing cards, if a player is dealt four Jacks in a game handthen a Royal Flush, i.e. a straight flush of ten through Ace, has beeneliminated from subsequent hands by the depletion to zero inventory ofthe Jacks, unless a restoration event occurs.

In some embodiments, the results of the exclusion of dealt game indiciais available to the player by displaying 22 the constitution of thefinite set excluding the dealt game indicia (or conversely by displayingthe dealt game indicia), by displaying 22 the winning hands eliminatedas a result of the exclusion of dealt game indicia (or conversely bydisplaying only the winning hands that can still be dealt), or both. Asmentioned above, other embodiments may not include a finite set orexcluding as described so far and/or may include other methods. Suchalternatives are discussed below.

In some embodiments, additional game hands are conducted with the playerplacing 28 a wager, receiving a game hand of game indicia, and playingthe game hand to completion. As noted above, these additional game handsmay be dealt 30 from the finite set excluding any previously dealt gameindicia in some embodiments. As each additional game hand is completed,the dealt game indicia from the additional game hands may be removedfrom play, e.g. collected from the player, and excluded from theinventory of game indicia available for subsequent game hands in someembodiments. As above, the results of the exclusion are displayed to theplayer in some embodiments.

It is noted that in an optional embodiment, the size of the wager in theadditional game hands may be controlled. For example, the player may berestricted in the amount by which the player can increase the wager.That is, in an optional embodiment, the bet spread, i.e. the spreadbetween the minimum wager and the maximum wager, may be different in theadditional game hands than in a hand played with the full finite set ofgame indicia. In a further optional embodiment, not permitted toincrease the wager at all during the additional game hands. Rather, theplayer of such an optional embodiment would only be permitted toincrease the player's wager in a game following a restoration event. Inother words, in such an embodiment, a player may increase the player'swager only when the finite set is restored of all the excluded gameindicia.

In this regard, it is also contemplated that various methods may beadapted to a game in which multiple wager denominations are established.In an optional embodiment of such a multi-denomination game, the playermay be restricted in changing denominations in that the player of suchan optional embodiment would only be permitted to change the player'swager denomination in a game following a restoration event. That is, asabove, in such an optional embodiment a player may change wagerdenomination only in some circumstances, such as when the full finiteset of game indicia is available in some embodiments. One purpose ofsuch optional wager and wager denomination restrictions are to controlthe house edge as additional game indicia are excluded from play in someembodiments, or other circumstances regarding a deck are changed in someembodiments.

As an example, in one optional embodiment, a player is enabled to placea wager of anywhere from one to five hundred credits without allowingplayers too great an ability to reduce the house edge. This isaccomplished in this optional embodiment by dividing the wagers intowager denomination levels in which the maximum wager in any one wagerdenomination level is a predetermined multiple of the minimum wager. Themultiple could depend upon the specific game; for example, in aBlackjack-type game, the multiple could be two, in other games, themultiple could be five. Thus, a first wager denomination level is onecredit to five credits, a second wager denomination level is fivecredits to twenty-five credits, a third wager denomination level is tencredits to fifty credits, a fourth wager denomination level istwenty-five credits to one hundred twenty-five credits, and a fifthwager denomination level is one hundred credits to five hundred credits.Thus, a player is permitted to wager anywhere from one to five hundredcredits, or at discrete plateaus therein, but may need to change wagerdenomination to do so.

According to some embodiments, the inventory may be restored orreshuffled to a full contingency before a player can increase the wagerdenomination. For instance, if a player is playing five credits per handthen wishes to raise the wager to one hundred credits per hand, theplayer cannot do so at the current wager level which would, at most,permit a wager of twenty-five credits per hand. Thus, the player in suchan example, would need to change wager denomination to place a wager ofone hundred credits per hand. As noted, a change in wager denominationwould, in this optional embodiment, be allowed if the player triggers amanual restoration event, i.e. restores the game indicia to the fullfinite set. It should be understood that other embodiments may notinclude shuffling, finite sets, and/or may include any other methods.

Returning to the optional embodiment of FIG. 1, the additional gamehands are dealt until a restoration event 24. The restoration event 24may include a manual restoration event alone or in combination with anautomatic restoration event in some embodiments. It should be recognizedthat such restoration events may not be included in some embodiments andmay take any form in other embodiments. In one optional embodiment, botha manual restoration event and an automatic restoration event areprovided, and the restoration occurs based on whichever occurs first.For example, a manual restoration event may include the playertriggering a restoration. Similarly, the automatic restoration event mayinclude the dealing of a predetermined quantity of game indicia and/orthe conducting of a predetermined quantity of game hands. Thus, in anembodiment in which both manual and automatic restoration events arepermitted, the player may trigger a restoration or may wait until arestoration automatically occurs after a certain quantity of gameindicia are dealt and/or a certain quantity of game hands are conducted.

In an optional embodiment directed for use in a multi-player game, eachplayer may be able to manually trigger a restoration. However, inanother optional embodiment for multi-player games, only one player iseligible to manually trigger a restoration on any game hand. In afurther optional embodiment, the eligibility to manually trigger arestoration rotates among the players.

In some embodiments, upon a restoration event, the excluded game indiciaare restored 26 to the set of game indicia available for play. In otherwords, the full finite set of game indicia are available in a game handdealt immediately after a restoration event. Optionally, in games inwhich the finite set is ordered, and game hands are dealt from theordered finite set, a restoration event may optionally restore excludedgame indicia and reorder the finite set. It should be recognized thatother embodiments may not include a finite set, may not includerestoration events, may not include a set of indicia, and/or may includeany other method.

According to an optional embodiment of the present method, it may bedesirable to track game hands to maintain a history of the game indiciaavailable, i.e. the state of depletion, and the game hands dealt. In amulti-denomination embodiment of the present invention, the game historymay be separately tracked and stored for each wager denomination plusthe total games history of a machine.

The optional embodiment of FIG. 2 is one possible version of the presentmethod 40 applied to a game in which multiple, i.e. at least two,simultaneous game hands are dealt. That is, in the embodiment of FIG. 2,rather than dealing game hands sequentially from a continuously depletedset of game indicia, the game hands are dealt simultaneously from acontinuously depleted set of game indicia.

As described in some embodiments above, a finite set of game indicia maybe defined 12. In such an optional embodiment, the player places 14 awager and multiple game hands are simultaneously dealt 42 to a player.In this optional embodiment, the multiple game hands are dealt 42 fromthe finite set of game indicia. The game hands are played 18 tocompletion. Optionally, the player may choose the order in which thegame hands are completed. Alternatively, the player may follow apredefined order in playing the game hands. As the player completes eachgame hand, the game indicia of the dealt hands along with any additionalgame indicia dealt to a game hand may be excluded 44 from the gameindicia available in completing another game hand in some embodiments.That is, throughout the conduct of the method, the available gameindicia are depleted by the game indicia dealt in some embodiments. Atleast the game indicia inventory or the winning hands excluded by thedepletion are displayed 22 to the player in some embodiments. Theprocess is repeated until there are no game hands remaining 46. Afterall the game hands are completed, the excluded game indicia are restored26 for the next subsequent deal in some embodiments.

Below are given some examples of games and possible methods forresolving whether a game hand is a winning hand. It is specificallynoted that these games are merely examples and should be consideredneither limiting to the present method nor the only possibleapplications of the present method.

Numbers, Lotto, or Bingo-Type Games

This optional game may be played in a live or electronic version. Insome embodiments, the game may be played with an inventory of gameindicia. The game indicia may take many different forms, but in anoptional embodiment, a fully constituted inventory consists of indiciabetween the numbers of 30 and 500 simulated symbols or live balls. Forthe purpose of explaining this optional embodiment of the game, the term“cage” refers to the location of the inventory of game indicia and theword “ball(s)” to refer to the game indicia available for dealing, eventhough it is contemplated that the game may be electronic in nature andthere may be no physical “cage” or “ball(s)” but rather electronicrepresentations thereof or no such elements at all.

In an example game, the cage is loaded with 63 balls and is continuallyspun and mixed by a random number generator (“RNG”) until the first ballis drawn, similar to Bingo. Some of the ball symbols have numbers onthem and the others are just blank. Each game version may have one ormore duplicate game indicia. One example of the cage inventory may be:

1 Ball Symbol Number of Balls 7 3 11  5 1 15 2 9 3 7 Blanks 24

In this example embodiment, when a player activates the “Play” button onthe electronic game embodiment with a fully constituted cage inventoryof balls, i.e. the complete finite set of game indicia, the RNG selectsthe first ball symbol and continues to select a ball until the firstgame play is complete. In this optional embodiment, the screen has anarray of three rows of three spaces each for a total of nine spaces forthe selected balls. Thus, in such an optional embodiment, a player has achoice to wager on anywhere between one pay line and eight pay lines,i.e. any of the three horizontal rows, three vertical columns, or twodiagonals. A winning combination may be obtained if three matching gameindicia line up in a row, column, or diagonal. Example of a pay table:

2 Symbol 1 Unit 2 Units 3 Units 4 Units 5 Units Combination Bet Bet BetBet Bet 7's 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000 11's 200 400 600 800 1,000Any 7 50 100 150 200 250 or 11's 3's 50 100 150 200 250 2's 20 40 60 80100 1's 10 20 30 40 50 Any 1, 2 5 10 15 20 25 or 3's Blanks 1 2 3 4 5

In this example embodiments, game indicia are depleted from the cage aseach ball is drawn out of the game indicia cage inventory. In anoptional embodiment, the first 3 balls called are for the centerhorizontal row of spaces first, then the other balls are called to fillthe remaining rows one at a time until nine balls are selected. As eachball symbol is selected to form a play line, it is deleted from therespective indicia symbol inventory stored in the cage. Indiciadepletion from the cage not only reduces the total inventory, but eachseparate group of symbols (numbered balls) may go to a zero balance andnot be available for the next depleted portion of the game.

In this optional embodiment, a player may deplete up to fifty-four ballsfrom the cage before an automatic restoration event. In such an optionalembodiment, this equates to six complete game hands from a fullyconstituted cage, before the cage is automatically restored with thepreviously excluded inventory. The precise point of restoring theinventory will vary between versions, but factors that may be consideredin triggering an automatic restoration could include the house edge inthe game and any regulatory requirements regarding the minimum andmaximum pay outs. Nonetheless, certain win combinations of indicia maybe impossible to obtain as the inventory is depleted and, in thisoptional embodiment, these are displayed to the player. That is, when anindicia symbol or combination of symbols that can form a winningcombination of a listed payout is excluded from the game indiciaavailable prior to the start of new round or game, the player will benotified. In this optional embodiment, players are also informed of theremaining cage inventory after at least one round of game has beenplayed, so the player has available the information to play based uponthe depletion.

The present optional embodiment may also include a manual restorationevent. That is, a player may have the ability to restore at will theexcluded game indicia to the inventory. In this optional embodiment, theplayer may use a “Restore” button to control the point of playing withdepleted inventory and the associated reduced or deleted winningcombination pay outs.

In this example embodiment, the distinction between the automaticrestoration event and the manual restoration event is that a player hasno control or input in the automatic restoring point. Rather, in thisoptional embodiment, the excluded game indicia are automaticallyrestored after a certain amount of game indicia has been drawn. However,using the manual restoration event, in this case the “Restore” button, aplayer can control the early restoring of the cage anytime after a gamehand is completed.

In an optional embodiment, the “Restore” button may also be used toalter the sequence of any new numbers being selected from a full cage ifpressed before the “Play” button is pressed. In such an optionalembodiment, the RNG that controls the mixing and selection of gameindicia is clock operated, and by utilizing the “Restore” button, italters the timing position of the clock. In other words, if a playerwere to use the “Restore” button before pressing the “Play” button, thesequence of selected numbers would be different than if the “Play”button was used first. Thus, this optional embodiment allows players theability have some input into the selection process of the RNG. Forexample, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,581,935, which is hereby incorporated byreference, an embodiment is described in which actuating a “Restore”button before a “Play” button alters the clock of a clock-based RNGthereby providing a different seed for randomly selecting game indicia.

In this example embodiment, a skill factor of knowing when the optimumtime to call for an early restoration of the cage inventory based upondepletion and remaining symbol indicia may be beneficial. Proper use ofthe “Restore” button may add to the expected value payout of the game.The optimal play strategy of restoring the inventory at the precise timerelative to the possible remaining is not always apparent, and playerswill have to develop a feel or skill for when to do this.

In an optional embodiment, this example game may be played with multiplewager denominations without changing pay outs in the pay tables or gameindicia inventory. This is distinguished from many of the other videogames which either change the pay tables or adjust the symbol mappinghit frequency (by adding or subtracting stops), to keep the casino dailyhold amount about the same for all the denominations of play on aspecific game. The bet spread limit on any round or game is between oneand five credit units of a specified denomination. This optionalembodiment permits varying sized wagers on each round or game, with thewager spread controlled by requiring the players to manually restore thecage inventory before changing wager denomination.

In this optional example, play history is separately tracked for eachwager denomination. In such an optional embodiment, the history for anyparticular wager denomination is tracked since the exclusion of dealtgame indicia makes each game unique. Thus, in an optional embodiment ofsuch a gaming machine, having five or six wager denominations, the playhistory is separately tracked for each of five or six, respectively,wager denominations. While the information tracked may vary, in thisoptional embodiment, information such as the game indicia dealt, amountbet, amount paid out (if any), time, and date are tracked. Also, theamount of information tracked may vary, but in an optional embodiment,because a depletion game plays multiple game hands from a continuallydepleted inventory of game indicia, a record may be kept on the numberof each game played from a full inventory (round 1, 2 etc.), therebytracking the actual depletion of the inventory. This is distinguishedfrom other video games, none of which plays more than one game, hand orround from a full inventory of indicia.

In an alternate optional embodiment directed to live play, a wire cageor blower contains five times the amount of inventory or three hundredfifteen balls that are selected nine at a time for up to six players ata specialized table. Up to five game hands are played before the cage isautomatically restored. Pay outs may remain the same as electronicversion. In this multi-player optional embodiment, the manual “Restore”button is passed from player to player each time the cage is restored.

Slot Machine Games

In another optional embodiment the depletion occurs in a video slotformat. In a typical video or reel slot machine the symbols on the reelsare not the actual stops. In such a typical machine, there may beanywhere from twenty-one to twenty-four symbols and blank spaces shownon each reel but there are actually anywhere from 220 to 370 stops foreach reel that is mapped to the reel symbols. For a typical slot machinewith twenty-two reel symbols/blank stops on each reel, this equates toover 10,000,000 possible combinations.

In this optional embodiment, the actual number of symbol stops aredisplayed for the reels in each of the reel inventory storage areas. Thegame initiates just like a slot machine and stops each reel wherever therandom number generator instructs it to after the number has beenselected.

However, in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention,after each game hand, the displayed combination of symbols and/or blanksmay be excluded from that reel's inventory for subsequent game hands.Thus, after the first game hand in which, for example, 220 stops on eachreel were available, only 219 stops on each reel are available on asecond game hand. The depletion reduces the total combinations possibleeach time a stop is removed thus increasing the probability for a playerto hit a jackpot. As above, this optional embodiment includes anautomatic restoration event such that a certain amount of stops willalways be left in the inventory when the automatic restoration of theexcluded game indicia, i.e. reel stops, occurs. Also, a manualrestoration event such as a “Reload” button will allow a player tocontrol the early restoration of the game indicia.

Poker-Type Games

Various embodiments may be applied to a poker-type game. For example, inone optional embodiment in which the base game is a standard Jacks orbetter video draw poker game, up to four game hands are dealt from astandard fifty-two card poker deck before an automatic restorationevent. As known in the art, the player of such an optional embodimentplays to obtain a winning hand as listed on a pay table. Play startswhen a player selects the wager denomination for betting and places abet of between minimum and maximum credits for the first hand. When thedeal button is pressed, a game hand, five cards in this optionalembodiment, are dealt face up to the player. The player has the optionto keep any or all of the cards by pushing the hold button under eachcard and drawing up to five cards to replace the discarded ones. Thereplacement cards are dealt from the deck depleted of the five initiallydealt cards. The game hand, consisting of the held cards along with thereplacement cards, has been completed at this point. If a playerreceives a winning hand, the player is rewarded according to a paytable.

In this optional embodiment, in playing the additional hands from thedepleted deck, each game hand wager is between a minimum and maximum betlimit for the selected wager denomination. In this optional embodiment,to change the bet credit denomination, the deck must be restored to afull inventory. In this optional embodiment, the pay table is constantthroughout the additional game hands. That is, even in hands in whichdealt game indicia are excluded, the pay table of this optionalembodiment does not change. In an optional embodiment, the pay tablecould be:

3 Hand Combination Payout Royal Flush 5,000 Straight Flush 500 4 of aKind 200 Full House 50 Flush 35 Straight 30 3 of a Kind 10 2 Pair 5Jack's or Better 5

In this example embodiment, as each card is dealt out to form an initialplaying hand, it is deleted or otherwise excluded from the deckinventory for subsequent play until a restoration event. According tosome embodiments, each card in a standard poker deck is a separatesymbol, having an attribute of one of four different suits (spades,diamonds, clubs and hearts) of one of thirteen different values. Thus,for example, there is only one Queen of hearts in a deck, but there area total of four Queens in the same deck. If the Queen of hearts weredealt in the first hand after a restoration event, it would beimpossible to obtain a heart Royal Flush or four-of-a-kind Queens in asubsequent hand because that Queen of hearts is now excluded fromsubsequent play until the deck is restored. All of the listed payoutcombinations are possible to obtain from a full deck, i.e. completefinite set, but if more than one hand is played, each card symbol isdeleted from the deck inventory for future use until a restorationevent. As above, card depletion from the deck may not only reduces thetotal inventory but, in an optional embodiment using a single deck withno duplicates, each separate card symbol goes to zero balance and maynot available to be dealt to subsequent game hands until a restorationevent.

In some embodiments, as discussed above, a manual restoration event canbe triggered by the player. The “Reshuffle” button allows players to bein control of playing with a depleted inventory, and it becomes a playeroption on whether to restore the excluded game indicia after playingone, two, three, or four hands before, in this optional embodiment, thedeck is automatically restored. It allows an individual the ability toplay the game with any strategy of choice and places the burden ofplaying with depleted outcomes on the individual and not on the game. Askill factor of knowing when the optimum time in the deck penetration isto call for an early reshuffle may be used in this game unlike someother game. In an example embodiment for draw poker, proper use of thisgame function will add approximately ½ of a percent to the ExpectedValue Payout to players over a period of time. The optimal play strategyof reshuffling at the precise time relative to the possible remainingpay outs may not be apparent, and each player may develop a feel orskill of when to do this. Player error may be high in this area.

In some embodiments, there may be a difference between the “Reshuffle”button function and the automatic restoration of the deck inventory. Inan optional embodiment directed to draw poker, the automatic restorationevent could be optionally determined by the quantity of completed hands.In an optional embodiment drawn to stud poker games, the automaticrestoration could be optionally determined by the quantity of handsconducted or the quantity of cards dealt.

In some embodiments, as discussed above, as each card symbol is played,it may be removed from the deck inventory and displayed to the player.As noted, in an optional embodiment using a single poker deck, each cardis a separate individual symbol. Thus, as each card is played there maybe a zero balance for the symbol in the remaining deck inventory. When asymbol or combination of symbols that can form a winning combination ofa listed payout is deleted from the deck prior to the start of a newhand, a player of this optional embodiment is notified through thedisplay so that the player can opt to restore or reshuffle the deckinventory. For example, the player of such an optional embodiment wouldbe notified through the display of any winning hand, such as a RoyalFlush or a pair of Jacks, that may be eliminated as a result of deckdepletion. In this optional embodiment, the player is also informedthrough the display of the remaining deck inventory after at least onehand has been played.

In an optional embodiment of a multi-denomination version of such apoker-type game, the winning hands listed on the pay table are constantwithout regard to the wager denomination. This is unlike some othervideo poker games in which the pay tables change when a game is playedwith a low denomination wager to keep the average daily casino holdabout the same for all denomination machines.

In an optional embodiment, a player may wager between the minimum wagerup to five times the minimum wager in any wager denomination level. Asabove, if a player wants to change the wager denomination, the deck mustbe restored to a full inventory of cards. Play history may optionally beseparately tracked for each wager denomination. As above, the recordinghistory of a such an optional embodiment may include such information asa game hand number, i.e. an identification of the game hand in theseries of game hands after a restoration event, and cards played, win,lose, bet amount, and the like for each game hand.

According to the optional embodiment described, the game isdistinguished from known poker-type games in that a player may (1) playa hand in a way that will give the highest expected value consideringthe average weighted payout for all possible outcomes; (2) exercise thechoice and control of when to reshuffle the depleted deck consideringthe possible remaining winning hands; and (3) adjust wagers and wagerdenomination to obtain optimal pay outs as the deck is depleted.

In yet another optional embodiment, a 4th hand bonus may be provided forthe draw poker-type game described. That is, this optional embodiment isprovided as a modification of the Jacks or better draw poker game. Asabove, the deck is automatically restored after four complete handsdealt from a single deck of fifty-two cards. According to the optionalembodiment, a bonus payout occurs for certain holdings, such as a RoyalFlush or a Straight Flush, that occur on the fourth game hand after adeck is restored and reordered. An example pay table could be:

4 Payout for Payout for Combinations Hands 1-3 Hand 4 Royal Flush 4,0008,000 Straight Flush 500 1,000 4 of a Kind 200 200 Full House 45 45Flush 35 35 Straight 25 25 3 of a Kind 10 10 2 Pair 5 5 Jack's or Better5 5

Again, this optional embodiment may be distinguished from other games inthat a bonus may be offered on a hand dealt from a depleted deck ofcards in which there is a higher likelihood of obtaining a straightflush. Thus, the player must factor in the possibility of winning thebonus amount in formulating the player's strategy of manually restoringthe deck.

In another optional embodiment directed to a stud poker-type game, aJoker card that can substitute for any other card, i.e. a wild card, isadded to a conventional fifty-two card poker deck to give a finite setcontaining fifty-three cards. In this optional embodiment, up to tencomplete game hands could be conducted before an automatic restorationevent to replenishing the deck inventory of cards.

In the optional embodiment, a wager is placed and a game hand is playedwith five cards dealt out to the player, with four cards face up and onecard face down. In such an optional embodiment, a player has the optionto double his or her wager based upon deck depletion and the remainingcards. The final card is revealed and the player is rewarded accordingto a pay table if the game hand is a winning hand.

In some embodiments, as described above, a player may have the abilityto trigger a manual restoration event to restore excluded game indiciaand reorder the deck inventory anytime after a hand of play iscompleted.

This may distinguish the example embodiment from other stud poker-typegames in that the player may develop a strategy to reshuffle the deck toobtain the most winning pay outs of optimal estimated value. Forexample, it is noted that in a single player, single deck optionalembodiment of the present game, by reshuffling the deck after a Jokerhas been played, the joker (wild card) will tend to appear 3½ times moreoften than if the deck was not reshuffled and the deck not depleted pastone hand of play. Player error may occur both in the proper time todouble the bet and optimal time to reshuffle the deck early.

In another optional embodiment, this game may include a bonus payout forcertain winning hands appearing in certain game hands after arestoration event. For example, in an optional embodiment, a doublepayout for a Royal Flush and Straight Flush may be provided if the gamehand is acquired in the 7th or 8th game hand after a deck is restored.In this optional embodiment, an automatic restoration event may occurafter eight game hands before there is an automatic restoration of thedeck inventory. The bonus pay outs could affect the strategy for earlyreshuffling and the dependence of the wild card play.

In another optional embodiment a method could be applied to a multi-handdraw poker-type game. For example, in one optional embodiment thatutilizes one deck of fifty-two poker playing cards, four game hands offive cards each are dealt out to the player after the wager denominationis selected and a wager is placed. Unlike other multi-hand poker gamesthat merely duplicate the same hand, the game hands according to thisoptional embodiment are dealt simultaneously, rather than sequentially,and completed from a continually depleted deck. That is, in thisoptional embodiment, the player makes a hold selection on each of thefour game hands and draws from the remaining cards in the deck tocomplete each game hand in rotation.

In this optional embodiment, all the game hands played are displayed asthe other game hands are completed, so an additional display of the deckinventory may not be necessary. In this optional embodiment, themultiple game hands are dealt simultaneously, and the deck may berestored after each game of multiple hands. Thus, a player cannotreshuffle the deck or increase the bet as each game hand is completed.

In yet another optional multi-hand embodiment, four game hands of fivecards each may be dealt simultaneously to a single player from astandard fifty-two card poker deck. Each game hand may have a bet limitdetermined by a minimum and maximum wager and may optionally requirethat a bet of at least one credit be placed on each of the four gamehands before the deal. As above, the player's goal is to obtain winninghands based on a schedule of winning hands in a pay table.

In some embodiments, after the initial four game hands are dealt out,the player can select to hold any or all of the cards and draw toreplace the discarded cards from the depleted deck inventory. Game handsmust be played in rotation order from the first through the fourth hand.Since each game hand could require at most ten cards, only a maximum offorty cards would be depleted from the deck. If a player obtains awinning combination on any completed game hand, he or she is paidaccording to a pay table.

This optional embodiment may be distinguished from other video games bythe application of the present method of dealing multiple hands, eachrequiring a separate wager, from a continuously depleted deck.Additionally, however, the optional embodiment may include a multi-handpay table to take advantage of the present multi-hand method. An exampleof a pay table according to this optional embodiment could be:

5 Combinations Payout 4 Royals on the deal 1,000,000 credits 4 Royals -any way 100,000 credits 3 Royals - any way 50,000 credits 2 Royals - anyway 20,000 credits 1 - Royal Flush 5,000 credits 1 - Straight Flush 500credits 1 - Four of Kind 200 credits 1 - Full House 45 credits 1 - Flush30 credits 1 - Straight 25 credits 1 - Three of a Kind 10 credits 1 -Two Pair 5 credits 1 - Jacks or Better 5 credits

This optional embodiment may not contain the ability for the player tomanually trigger a restoration. Rather, excluded game indicia may berestored after the four simultaneously dealt game hands are completed.Optionally, a progressive linked bonus payout system may be implementedfor this game.

In this optional embodiment, a display is included to inform a player ofthe game indicia or winning combinations that have been depleted to zeroand, thus, are not available for play for each subsequent hand beforethe deck is restored to a full card inventory.

Blackjack-Type Games

Some embodiments may also be applied to Blackjack or Blackjack-typegames. In an optional single player embodiment, one or more hands areplayed against a dealer's hand with the object being to obtain a playerhand, the total of which is nearer to twenty-one than the dealer's handtotal is, without exceeding twenty-one. As known in the art, in thepresent optional embodiment, the Aces count as either one or eleven,face cards (kings, queens and jacks) as ten, and the numbered cards astheir face value.

In some embodiments, two cards are dealt face up to the player and twocards are dealt to the dealer, one face up and one face down, commonlyknown as the hole card. The dealer's hole card is displayed after theplayer completes the player's game hand. However, if the dealer's handis a natural twenty-one, i.e. an ace and a ten-value card also known asBlackjack, in a version of the game that does not have the insuranceoption, then both cards of the dealer are displayed and the game hand isover. Conversely, if a player's first two cards are a naturaltwenty-one, or Blackjack, the player is typically paid greater than evenmoney assuming the dealer does not also have a Blackjack. The preciseaward for a Blackjack could vary.

In some embodiments, if, after completing the game hand by hitting orstanding, the total value of the player's game hand is closer totwenty-one than the dealer's hand, then the player will win and be paid,optionally at even money. Additional options, such as splitting anddoubling down may also be made available to the player. If a player'scards total more than twenty-one, the player busts and the player losesthe wager bet. If the player and dealer have the same hand totals ofseventeen or more a push occurs and bets are returned.

In this optional embodiment, one or more fifty-two card standard pokerdecks may be used. In an optional embodiment, as many as eight decks ormore may be used. In some embodiments as discussed above, multiple handsare played from the deck and dealt cards are excluded from further playuntil a restoration event. It should be recognized that otherembodiments may not include finite decks, may not include suchdepletion, and/or may include any other methods.

In some embodiments, as each game indicia, i.e. playing card, is dealtto either a player hand or a dealer hand, it is displayed to the playerand removed from the deck inventory. That is, each card in aconventional poker deck is a separate symbol and as each symbol isplayed there is a balance of zero for that symbol in the deck inventory.When a symbol or combination of symbols that can form a winningcombination for a listed payout is not available as a consequence of theexclusion of dealt cards, a display notifies the player. Optionally, theplayer may manually restore or reshuffle the deck inventory if theplayer chooses to do so. For example, if, as a result of the depletion,the Blackjack combination is eliminated, a display is provided to theplayer.

In some embodiments, the player has the ability to manually trigger anearly reshuffle of the deck inventory after any completed hand byutilizing the “Reshuffle” button function of the game. The example gamemay also be directed for use in a multi-player format. In such anembodiment, any player may be able to manually trigger a restoration or,in an optional embodiment, the ability to manually trigger a restorationmay rotate among players.

In some embodiments, as discussed above, limits on the bet spread (i.e.the difference between the minimum and maximum wager) and the ability ofthe player to change wager denomination may apply. That is, in anoptional embodiment, the player may be restricted from changing wagerdenomination except after excluded indicia are restored either manuallyor automatically.

In an optional embodiment, each player may play multiple game handsdealt simultaneously. That is, in such an optional embodiment, two ormore hands are dealt to the player and one hand to the dealer.

In some embodiments, while the player may be required to complete theplayer's game hands in a particular sequence, in an optional embodiment,the player may select the order in which the hands are played. Thus, onestrategy would be to use the display of the excluded cards, oralternatively the cards not excluded, the player may play the game handsin the order that optimizes the player's chance of obtaining aparticular card. As above, a Blackjack is an automatic win for theplayer unless the dealer also has a blackjack hand. All hands lose ifdealer has a Blackjack, except that if the player has one or moreBlackjacks a push outcome may occur.

In some embodiments, as discussed above, cards may be dealt from thecontinuously depleted deck until an automatic restoration event ormanual restoration event, whichever occurs first. In this optionalembodiment, an automatic restoration occurs when a quantity of cardshave been dealt. Additionally, the player may also manually trigger arestoration after the dealer hand is completed. It should be recognizedthat other embodiments may not include such finite sets, such depletion,and/or may include any other methods.

In a further optional embodiment, a bonus may be provided foroccurrences over multiple game hands. For example, in one optionalembodiment, three game hands may be dealt to the player and one hand tothe dealer. In this optional embodiment, the player receives a bonuspayout for multiple Blackjacks, such as three Blackjacks for the threesimultaneously dealt player game hands. In another optional embodiment,a player may be dealt four game hands and a bonus may be provide formultiple Blackjacks, such as two, three, or four Blackjacks, in the foursimultaneously dealt player game hands.

It is specifically noted that embodiments of the present invention isnot limited to video gaming machine and computer, e.g. Internet, play.Rather, embodiments of the present invention may be applied to tablegames as well. According to an optional embodiment, a table version ofthe present invention may include an object placed in front of only oneplayer on any game hand to represent a “Reshuffle” button. This“Reshuffle” button would allow only one player to manually trigger arestoration before an automatic restoration. Optionally, the “Reshuffle”button rotates each time the deck is restored, either manually orautomatically.

It is further noted that in some embodiments, the quantity of-cardsplayed before an automatic restoration can be significant. By utilizinga consistent automatic restoration point, a payout of any blackjack typegame will have less risk that the house advantage will be too low orthat the player will gain an advantage. For example, in a game usingsix-decks of playing cards, the automatic restoration point set atseventy-eight cards remaining gives an average casino hold of 2.42% overthe long term. However, by setting the automatic restoration point atseventy-nine cards remaining, the average casino hold raises to 2.53%over the long term.

Thus, by controlling the automatic restoration point in someembodiments, along with the minimum and maximum wager spread and anylimitations on changing wager denomination if desired, a Blackjack-typegame can be created applying various embodiments that does not allow theplayer to have an advantage over the house. Thus, in an optionalembodiment, the present invention includes the calculation of anautomatic restoration point to minimize the risk that the player willgain an advantage, or that the house will lose an advantage, over thelong term including such factors as the size of the finite set. Someembodiments of the present invention further include using such acalculated automatic restoration point consistently such as byautomatically restoring the game indicia in an electronic version, or bymarking a shoe of playing cards to include a guide, e.g. a channel,groove or visual marker, to position mark a consistent automaticrestoration position when the decks are restored.

In some embodiments, when an outcome becomes unavailable due todepletion, a display regarding an inventory/deck data may be hidden. Forexample, in some embodiments, if all outcomes are available based on theconstituency of a deck, a display may show information about theconstituency; however, if an outcome becomes unavailable due todepletion, the display may be hidden.

In some embodiments, hiding a information may include removing theinformation from a display (e.g., from a monitor, form a screen, etc.).In some embodiments, hiding information may include preventing theinformation from being displayed. In some implementations, suchinformation may be displayed under some circumstances, but may beprevented from display under other circumstances.

In some implementations, the number of outcome eliminated based ondepletion may be greater than one. For example, in some implementations,the number may include a number equal to all outcomes that areassociated with cards dealt in a prior hand. For example, in someimplementations, if a two, a king, an ace, and a ten are dealt in aprior hand, then the number may include all outcomes that include anyother those cards (e.g., four kings, a straight with any of the cards,etc.).

In some implementations, this hiding of information may affect play by aplayer. However, such ply may be affected as a deck reaches an end whenit is more likely that depletion will have such an effect. It may becomeeasier for a player to track cards as a deck reaches an end than at thebeginning of a deck. In some implementations, a player may be presentedwith a warning that a display of information is about to be hidden sothat the player may begin to keep mental track of card/indiciainformation.

In some embodiments, a player may not have an option torestore/reshuffle a deck. In such embodiments, at least one additionalsequential game hand may be conducted using a finite set/deckdata/inventory cumulatively excluding dealt game indicia until anautomatic restoration event. Such an event may include, for example, anumber of cards being dealt, a number of hands played, a particularstate of a shoe, when a cut card is reached, and so on. In someimplementations, a virtual card may be placed in a deck at a desiredlocation and when the cut card is reached the deck may bereshuffled/restored. In some implementations, the reshuffle/restore mayoccur before the start of a next hand. In other implementations, thereshuffle/restore may occur at a time when the automatic event istriggered (e.g., even if it is in the middle of a hand). In someimplementations, a cut card may be placed in a deck between a desiredrange of cards (e.g., in the middle third of a deck), at a randomlocation in a deck, and/or in any other desired location and/or fashion.

Some embodiments may include saving a state of a finite set/deck data/aninventory. Such a state may be saved, for example after a first gamingsession. Saving a state may include, for example, storing informationdescribing a current circumstance of a deck, such information may bestored, for example, in a database, and/or on any computer readablemedium. A gaming session, for example, may include any number of gamesplayed. A gaming session may end, for example, when a player turns adevice used to play the game off, leaves a gaming machine, turns acomputer program used to play a device off, switches applications on acomputer, visits a different website than the one used to play a game,and/or takes any other action to stop the play of a game.

Some embodiments may include restoring a state of a game at a start of asecond gaming session. The start of a gaming session may include anytime before play of a game begins (e.g., before cards are dealt, beforea player is given an option to make a move in a game, etc.). Restoring astate may include receiving/retrieving stored information. Suchinformation may be retrieved from a database and/or any computerreadable medium. Be restoring the state, the player may begin play usinga deck that has been depleted to the extent it was depleted in the priorsession. Accordingly, a player may be unable to perform a manualrestoration by turning a game off and back on, in some suchimplementations.

In some implementations, information about a state may be stored in alocation that may withstand a reset of a gaming device, for example, apermanent storage device such as a hard disk drive. In someimplementations, such information may be updated each time a card isdealt so that the information is up to date at all instances.

In some implementations, a first gaming session may take place on afirst device and a second gaming device. Each gaming device may haveaccess to the state information (e.g., through a communication network).The state information may be stored for example, on a networked drive orother network accessible storage medium. The state information may bestored on a card or other id that a player carries with her and may beused by the player to start a game (e.g., similar to the well known TITOsystem storage of money information). In some implementations, a playermay end a computer program to end a session and begin a computer programat a same or different device to begin a second session. A computerprogram may include, for example a java script program, an AJAX program,a web browser, a web based application, a stand alone program, and/orany other program.

While certain embodiments of the present invention have been shown anddescribed it is to be understood that the present invention is subjectto many modifications and changes without departing from the spirit andscope of the claims presented herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: facilitating, by a computingdevice, a round of a game using a set of game elements by: (a)determining a plurality of game elements from the set of game elements,(b) removing the plurality of game elements from the set of gameelements for subsequent rounds played using the set of game elements,(c) determining whether the plurality of game elements form a winningoutcome, and (d) displaying at least one of: information about remaininggame elements in the set and winning outcomes eliminated as a result ofsaid removing; and facilitating, by the computing device, at least oneadditional round by subsequent steps (a)-(d) using the set of gameelements until an automatic restoration event, in which facilitating theat least one additional round includes: saving a state of the set when afirst gaming session played ends; and restoring the saved state when asecond gaming session starts, in which the saved state includesinformation defining the game elements remaining in the set.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, in which the first gaming session takes place on afirst gaming device and the second gaming session takes place on asecond gaming device.
 3. The method of claim 1, comprising ending agaming program to end the first gaming session; and starting the gamingprogram to start the second gaming session.
 4. The method of claim 1,comprising preventing said player from manually restoring the finite setbefore the automatic restoration event.
 5. The method of claim 1, inwhich the set includes a finite set, and in which facilitating the roundincludes receiving a wager from a player.
 6. An apparatus comprising: acomputing device; and a non-transitory machine readable medium havingstored thereon a plurality of instructions that when executed by thecomputing device cause the apparatus to: facilitate a round of a gameusing a set of game elements by: (a) determining a plurality of gameelements from the set of game elements, (b) removing the plurality ofgame elements from the set of game elements for subsequent rounds playedusing the set of game elements, (c) determining whether the plurality ofgame elements form a winning outcome, and (d) displaying at least oneof: information about remaining game elements in the set and winningoutcomes eliminated as a result of said removing; and facilitate atleast one additional round by subsequent steps (a)-(d) using the set ofgame elements until an automatic restoration event, in whichfacilitating the at least one additional round includes: saving a stateof the set when a first gaming session played ends; and restoring thesaved state when a second gaming session starts, in which the savedstate includes information defining the game elements remaining in theset.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6, in which the first gaming sessiontakes place on a first gaming device and the second gaming session takesplace on a second gaming device.
 8. The apparatus of claim 6, in whichthe instructions cause the apparatus to end a gaming program to end thefirst gaming session; and starting the gaming program to start thesecond gaming session.
 9. The apparatus of claim 6, in which theinstructions cause the apparatus to prevent said player from manuallyrestoring the finite set before the automatic restoration event.
 10. Theapparatus of claim 6, in which the set includes a finite set, and inwhich facilitating the round includes receiving a wager from a player.